The latest win against France makes this the 3rd straight game that Team USA has failed to cruise to victory, unlike what many expected of the Americans. The semifinals will take place Friday and the gold medal game is Sunday.
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But never has the best basketball team in the world looked so vulnerable. It went to halftime trailing by five, in what was the first time it has gone into the break losing since the 2004 Games. And never has it seen such a risky field between it and a gold medal.
“The way you might get fouled over here, it would be called differently in the (NBA)”, Team USA guard Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls said. Pool play is done and the quarterfinals are Wednesday.
After easy wins over China and Venezuela, the United States received a wake-up call against Serbia and a battling 10-point victory against Australia before meeting France. And with the possibility of playing Spain, Argentina, Brazil or Croatia in the quarterfinals, the USA has to figure some things out quickly.
Because the NBA is the best professional basketball league on earth, the US has always excelled on the Olympic stage – the one time that American players can show their worldwide prowess.
“They haven’t been dominating, but they haven’t lost, either”, France’s Boris Diaw said Sunday.
“We all know what it takes to win in the playoffs”, Durant said. Wins by 10 points or less are not normal. For a national program that had spent the past eight years winning FIBA games by an average margin of 29.4 points (34 games in all), and that has won 50 consecutive games in FIBA play (and 22 in the Olympics), this is surprising stuff. The victor will have a chance of advancing to the next round depending on the results of the last two games on Monday. “We’ve got to be prepared for a grind-out game”. But the Americans didn’t build off of it, haven’t adjusted to what their opponents are doing, and haven’t cleaned up their issues. Then, they followed that performance with a near-collapse against Serbia.
When the score between USA and France was really close, Kyrie Irving’s lobs pass to Kevin Durant for alley-oop re-fueled the team. Every team can win on any night and any team can lose any time it steps on the floor.
“This isn’t a tournament that we’re going to just dominate”, USA guard Paul George said. “We respect them. We can’t just step on the court and just watch them play”. “But that being said, you have to know how to adjust”.
Global basketball observers have seen this Australian ascension coming. On any night, it could be Durant or Kyrie Irving who carries them. And as good as their opponents have been, those opponents haven’t gotten enough stops.
From there United States of America will play the victor of Spain and France and should they win that game as well, will then advance to the Gold Medal game against one of Australia/Croatia/Serbia/Lithuania. “The NBA wasn’t really considering worldwide players the way they are now”.
But fantastic on offence might not be enough. Argentina was the last to beat the USA and claim the gold medal in 2004 in Athens. “But what people always forget, you must play very good on offence”. It still has the best talent in the field.
“We control our own destiny”, Thompson said. “We’ve got to lock up, and we will”. “I think that’s the biggest thing that really separates us from them”.
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As long as Geno Auriemma is coaching, Team USA won’t be overlooking any opponent. “At the end of the day, no one will ask you anything else except if you have won”, he said.
